Off to the Races

C's can has degrees?

2008-12-16T21:24:00.000-08:00

I just got my final grade in my stats class, and I'm overjoyed to say I swung that C, and am proud of it. I abhorred that class, that professor, the classroom the class was in, and... yeah, I think the picture is painted. Only one more to go now.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-16T04:41:00.001-08:00

I'm mid-way through my second consecutive all-nighter of studying for finals, and at this point all I can say is I can't wait until 12:40 on Wednesday when all this madness will be over...

That being said, at ~12:40 on Thursday I'm hopping on a plane for my first Christmas home in... wow, what's it been, 4 years? I'll be around for two weeks, minus a trip down to Illinois for a couple days to see my sister and her family (sounds like they've had snow, and I can't wait to make a snowman with my nephew!), so we should all try to get together some time. I'll try to send emails/call, but in case I don't get to it with studying and all feel free to shoot me days that work for you.

Hope to see you all soon!

blah, blah, and blah

2008-10-04T16:00:00.000-07:00

I just got done checking out some stuff on Starcraft II, and all I have to say is wow, looks like fun! I'm not sure when exactly we'll see the game, but sounds like sometime next year... Anyway, go check out some of the videos - looks like terrans got a BIG boost :)

School is still humming along. I've been pretty busy so far this semester... I'm really trying to only focus on what's going on now, but barring any unforeseen events I'll be all set to go for spring quarter at UCSD, so I'm pretty excited about that.

Not much else going on, just same old stuff I suppose. If you're the type that enjoys sci-fi movies, doesn't mind that physics are ignored in kung fu movies, and could tolerate a hybrid of the two in animated form, you should check out the show Karas. There are only six episodes, so the time commitment is negligible - the only problem might be I'm not sure you could handle that much kick-ass entertainment in one sitting. Find a place that streams it in good quality (so not youtube) and check it out. If you like it let me know and I'll recommend some sources for the remaining episodes.

Happy Life Day!

2008-01-03T04:51:00.000-08:00

Back from the far reaches of the galaxy, I just wanted to take a moment and wish you all a very happy Life Day. It's a little late, but the celebration is still going so all is well.

Recent life

2008-01-01T02:50:00.001-08:00

Can you guess what I've been doing? Yeah, I finally gave in. Since my brother-in-law is moving away in a couple months, he convinced me that I should start playing galaxies so we could "stay in touch". I'm still on the free trial, but it seems pretty cool, and I'm pumped for being a rebel pilot, so I'll probably end up coughing up my hard earned coin so Sony can finance their next generation DRM project. Anyway, I'm having fun, but I'm finding it amazing how fast time goes when you play one of these games. (What, sunlight coming through my window already???)

おわり！！！

2007-12-19T14:14:00.000-08:00

I'm finally done with this semester! How sweet it is. Now, I must quick do some holiday shopping (can't spend christmas with the relatives and not bring anything, now can you.) and pack my bags for the trip. Hope you all have a great holiday.

ungh...

2007-12-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

Wow, has it really been three weeks since my last post? Amazing. I'm in the midst of finals as we speak. Two classes are completely done, and so far I've got two aces in the hole, but, unfortunately, I think this round I'll have to settle for two pair. For one, my English professor will be damned if he actually gives out any A's. I've received the best (or tied for) grade on every paper in our class, and I'll still have to float on water if I expect to raise my score over the magic 90%. And then there's chemistry. The Prof posted last year's final for practice (very, very nice of him) and the mean score was... 61.5%. (shudders) Ouch. Good professor, but NEVER before have I seen exams as hard. Considering I'm floating the A/B line, with a final like that I'm thinking B ftw.

So I'm going to Denver for Christmas. Anyone else have big plans? Unfortunately, at this time it's looking like yet another holiday season for which I will not make it to Minnesota, but if that changes I'm sure to let you all know.

In other news: Dailymotion is trying out a beta player. Awesome, the site that already has better streaming quality than youtube is about to get even better. Streaming video of quality that you can actually fullscreen is a wonderful thing.

laze

2007-11-25T00:52:00.000-08:00

So, after a wonderful entire week off, utilized entirely by playing Civ III and websurfing, I have but one thing to say: has anyone checked out Pownce? (that would be the Kevin Rose affiliated pownce.com I'm speaking of) I'm curious...

Well, maybe I have 2 things. Number two: in your humble opinions, what's the best installment of the Civ franchise?

I'm thinking about posting in this font size exclusively from now on. I think they must have changed it, because I remember feeling the default was far too big, but now it seems baby bear right.

OMGOMGOMG

2007-10-31T02:59:00.000-07:00

Holy crap, I may have just found the funniest things ever to come out of youtube. You all must check it out ASAP. GO HEREEEEEE!!!!!

"only you can prevent forest fires"

2007-10-25T03:36:00.001-07:00

After seeing Clancy's comment asking about the fires, I thought I would let you (at most 5) people know what's up... So far things are going pretty well for me. The fires got about 5 or so miles away the other day, but there is freeway between here and there that would have most likely stopped it, so I wasn't too worried. Monday was really smokey and it rained ash for quite a while, but today the air was a lot cleaner, and the headlines said they are starting to get a hold on things, so hopefully it will all be over soon. For a cool map of the situation, check this out. It's updated pretty frequently too, so I've been using that a lot to see if I need to evacuate or anything. It's far from over yet, but unless another fire starts in the middle of everything, I think I should be fine. I hope the other people can fare as as well as I have.

Where'd it go?

2007-10-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

Man has it been busy lately. I have absolutely no idea where the last several weeks have gone. Just boom, gone. My head is absolutely spinning. Classes are going well, the new house is great... No complaints, but man, I can't even remember two weeks ago. Mostly I've just been studying lately. School school school... Last weekend I celebrated my birthday. Yay, another meaningless year older. I don't really have anything to say, but I figured I should make an attempt to blog.

Point of interest: Recently a friend of mine devised an awesome way to determine if a girl is 'of age' or not - ask her what her favorite cartoons were when she was little! If she says something like animaniacs or the smerfs, you know she's cool. If she says the care bears, she's old enough, but you have to decide the cool factor yourself. If she says Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, or Dragonball Z, you immediately know that A) she's not cool, at all, and B) she's definitely not old enough. It's golden! Never again will you have to wonder :)

NEW HOUSE!!!!

2007-09-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

YAYYYY!!!! YAYYYY!!!! wait, did I say YAYYYY!!!?

So, I FINALLY moved to a new place. After months of waiting, and the last two months of NO INTERNET, I finally managed to get the fuck out of that place and into a real, proper, house. So yay! I'm not fully moved in yet... Actually, the vast majority of my stuff is still in the garage, but I got my computer up and running and wanted to let everyone know why I had taken such an extended vacation.

I'll write more soon.

Pictures!!!

2007-08-07T00:14:00.001-07:00

I was going to post them within the blog, but there just wasn't happiness somewhere along the line. Possibly a yahoo/google thing? Ya think?

My friend Yuzu-Chan and I. (or part of...)

Class

Food for thought

2007-08-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

Thought of the day... (and perhaps a word of advice. If the shoe fits, wear it.) Somehow the phrase, "Well you can suck my *#!@" just loses its poignancy when uttered by a woman. Indeed, about all it elicits is a faint smile.

Correction

2007-07-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

Last entry I said of Claymore 'Best. Anime. Ever.' After 10 episodes of simply jaw dropping entertainment I'll raise the bar to simply one of the best shows I've ever watched. Wow...

I have to go... I tried to pick my jaw up off the floor after last episode, but I only got half of it.

Mend your ways!

2007-07-25T00:15:00.000-07:00

All right all you non-anime-watching people out there. I don't care who you are, or how much you hate/could care less about any animated shows coming out of the land of the rising sun, it is time you suck it up and sacrifice ~23 minutes of your life to witness greatness. You must (and I mean it) try the show Claymore. It has AMAZING art, great seiyū (voice actors), and a damn good story. Oh, and did I mention plenty of gushing blood? I've always been lukewarm towards most anime, but this one hands-down simply rocks. Check out a great streaming rip of ep 1 here courtesy of divx.com, and then either follow these links or simply torrent it. Best. Anime. Ever.

Sweet Relief

2007-07-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

This last week I had finals for chem and all I can say is I'm SO glad that class is done. What a great instructor, though. His is the first ratemyprofessor page I've ever seen without a SINGLE bad review. But man was there a lot of hw... Anyway, I aced the class, so rockin! The rest of the summer semester should be more relaxed now.

I'm looking into getting new glasses... This pair that I've had since the late nineties just aren't cutting it anymore... I was going to just head over to the closest lenscrafters, but after talking to a friend who got flexon frames with transition lenses all for under $300 at a "family optometrist", I'm thinking maybe that would be cheaper. It seems as Lenscrafters must make their money by selling frames at cost and then jacking up the lenses, because they charge that much for just the transition lenses. Since everybody I know who reads this wears eyeglasses, what do you think, national chain, or local practice?

And in case you've been living in a cave, Beckham is in LA now. I'll be going to a game sometime within the next month, so I'll keep you posted. It would be cool if he helps bring the sport into prominence over here. Considering the Galaxy, his new team, has only 3 wins so far, I don't think we'll see him on national TV carrying them to the title this year, though.

Sorry, no muckracking links for you're viewing pleasure today.

Happy Fourth of July

2007-07-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ah, the fourth of July... I used to be really psyched about this pseudo-holiday, but this year I could not care less. I've been looking forward to it, but not because it's Independence Day, but because I get the day off from school. A day that I can use to get a step ahead on my homework and go to sleep early.

Really, I don't understand how anybody can really give two shits about celebrating the birthday of this 'glorious ' nation that excuses criminals, as long as they have the right skin pigment and political connections, that oppresses our rights to basic privileges and privacies in the name of 'safety/security', and that seeks to exert its will across this world without consideration for native citizenry. Oh, and I almost forgot, a nation willing to restrict its population's access to information for the right price. (see savetheinternet.com for more on that) Didn't our president invent a label for countries like that a couple years ago...? It's like it's right there, at the tip of my tongue.... Grrr, what is it...? Oh, YES!!! "Axis of Evil".

What a hypocritical war mongering self absorbed cancer on this world our country has become. Happy 4th.

Oh, and for the auto-enthusiasts... Check out TimeAttack out of UK. Mostly rice rockets, but pretty cool.

Assorted Topics

2007-06-23T12:15:00.001-07:00

Ahhh... the weekend (sigh of relief). School has been proceeding at a breakneck speed, but it is going so well I couldn't be happier about it. To explain my lack of legitimate postings, I've been booking at least 3-4 hours of homework a night, so just haven't had the time.

A list of recent things of interest:

Microsoft is really pushing its Windows Live community. I've mostly ignored it thus far, but its recent offer of real prizes such as Vista ultimate, a Zune, and an Xbox 360 simply for playing their games is most enticing. Had I a day job, I would surely be wasting all sorts of company time collecting arcade-style tickets. For all of you 会社員 out there, may your productivity waste away.

To fulfill my muckraking quota, I recently read a disconcerting article in The New Yorker about the Abu Ghraib prison investigation in Iraq. I would write more about the unsettling nature of scandal that seems to pervade each and every report out of Iraq, but thinking about that and the dozens of good people I've known who lost their lives over there makes it too upsetting. If you're all not outraged, you should be.

In the news: A presidential debate on youtube? WOOT!!!

Personal: So I'm thinking about moving again. I'm tired of my current arrangement, and I badly want to live in a place I can both be comfortable in right now, and will also want to live in for a while. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I moved into my current place, but I now know I do not want to live here for the next x years, and I wonder about even the next x months. Since I know my time here is coming to a close sooner or later, I'm tempted to take the plunge now. Everything else is going well; I hate to have the place I'm living be the sole thorn in my side. Besides, I need more room. I have so much stuff... Rather than rant about my situation, I think I'll just change it. I will keep you posted.

dont have a meltdown...

2007-06-20T23:05:00.001-07:00

Too busy for a real post.

http://www.dailymotion.com/us/featured/video/x2b9a3_businessman-has-meltdown-in-hotel-l

It's Father's Day

2007-06-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

My Father is getting a belated card this year... my bad, Dad.

Last week was crazy busy. This one semester in 5 weeks thing makes for a lot of homework...

Sometime back during my trolling for all things good, I came across the Hometown Baghdad series. If you've not heard of it, it is "An ongoing documentary web series following the lives of a few Iraqi 20-somethings trying to survive in Baghdad." Bottom line, it's a pretty interesting series that deserves props for showing the truth. Unfortunately, on their homepage, hometownbaghdad.com, they are using imbedded youtube windows so the video quality there is shitty. They have some blog entries, however, and also a full episode list, so take those titles, cruise on over to dailymotion.com, and enjoy the streaming video superiority that is that site. If you've never heard of this "dailymotion" thing I speak of, check this out.

OK, as long as it's just a quickie...

2007-06-11T19:46:00.001-07:00

I have a bunch of homework tonight so can't blog long. I was crazy and signed up for a mid-level chem class that's compressed into a 5 week semester. Ouch.

Quick thoughts:

What happened to Avril Lavigne? She was totally cool in a 'fuck guys'/punk-rocker/I'm going to go cut myself kind of way, and now her new song is about wanting to be some dude's girlfriend? And the video? It has backup dancers... If you're going to sing about how your milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, you damn well better be able to shake it. Bottom line: Little Miss Sell-Out, you're out of my book.

Cutiemish, don't worry, even though you don't record much anymore, you're still in.

(speachless)

2007-06-08T15:44:00.000-07:00

Oh, I had grand plans of blogging multiple witty things of great import today, but then I saw something that has changed my life for what I fear may be forever... Just try this, my first attempt turned out perfect. Amazing...

As the poster who I stole this video from said,
"There is your life before, and there is life after watching this video."

(work safe)

World's Longest Commercial Break

2007-06-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

And we're back! Sort of. Unless you're blind and thus are having this read to you, you will surely notice the layout change. That was part of the reason I quit blogging almost a year ago: I was tired of blogger, its limitations, and its generic feel. I chose the only template that I personally hadn't seen countless other blogs utilizing, but I still know that they exist. And yes, I can edit the html, but if I'm going to go to that much work I might as well design my own site. But, I promised I would get this back up for my wayward friend(s) who insist on living in Minn, so here we are. Another blog on Blogger that looks just like countless other Blogger blogs...

I'm looking into doing my own site. Drupal is really cool. You should check it out. I need to register/buy my domain... it's a lot of work.

Things I have found in spare time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzO1mCAVyMw&feature=dir
Google Images search >> Gothic Lolita (or, more correctly, gothic lolita >> google images)

I want my straight rights!

2006-08-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

About fu#*ing time! Plan B contraceptive has finally been approved for over-the-counter non-prescription sales. Thank you zealous religious right for causing the inevitable to take so long. Read all about it here:

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200608260922.htm
and/or
http://news.worldfitness.ca/2006/08/27/barr-has-big-plans-for-plan-b/

Get the latex suits!

2006-08-01T06:03:00.000-07:00

So in a recent conversation a couple of us were arguing semantics between masochism and sadism. Well, I've looked them up now so I know the difference between them, but without consulting a dictionary, do you? Let's hear your best guesses. To renew an old theme, winner gets 5 points in the Curtis pointless point collection challenge.

l33t Beotch!

2006-07-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, I just fixed my keyboard. I'm almost not feeling like a techtard anymore!

So here's the story. I got a little pissed off. Well, more than a little, and so I of course started beating my keyboard. We all do that once in a while, right? Yeah, well, I really beat it. But, I cracked that baby right open, and 20 minutes later the worlds cheapest keyboard works again! Booya keyboard! Take that and like it!

wha wha wha what

2006-07-05T23:52:00.000-07:00

I have now consumed 3000 mg Taurine, 600 mg Panax Ginseng, and 7500 mg "Energy Blend" in the last 18 hours thanks to one calc test, a psychology exam, and last but most certainly not least, 3 Mega Monster energy drink cans. I've been buzzing for so long now I feel like a crack addict.

I think I found my major...

2006-06-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of my summer classes. It went fairly well. I will go in more detail later, but for now, I would just like to say that my psych class is overflowing with hot chicks. I love it. This afternoon I learned what color of thong underwear the three girls in front of me were wearing. Oh, and somebody somewhere mentioned Freud or something...

Ah, sweet, sweet memories...

2006-06-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

After a long absence, I once again find myself in a campus computer lab. What a place. A plethera of people. A cornucopia of characters. Ah yes, the annoying asshole next to me who insists on breathing through his nose. OPEN YOUR MOUTH YOU IDIOT!!! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR EVERY BREATH!!! ARRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!! AND YOU, TWO COMPUTERS OVER, TURN OFF YOUR FRACKIN' MUSIC. I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR P.O.S. MP3 COLLECTION THROUGH THE CRAPPINESS OF YOUR HEADPHONES.

Ah yes, the computer lab. A sanctuary for sadists...

Dog Days...

2006-06-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

I told myself about a month or two ago I was going to get this thing back up and running, so I thought I would feel worse about not posting much lately, but since neither is anybody else, I don't.

School starts in about 2 weeks.

I went home for a brief vacation.

Work sucks.

Father's Day is next Sunday.

I might expand on one of those ideas later.

Rake That Muck!

2006-06-03T08:34:00.000-07:00

Befitting my ever liberal hippiness, I get occasional emails from the US Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG). The latest was an online petition to the Secretary of Education in hopes of preventing the rate hikes for student loans. So, if you want to be a rabble rouser or a muckraker, hit up this site and send them an email.

Oh yeah, and while it is a form letter, your additional comments are welcom, so you could really go to town. Have fun.

How Sad

2006-05-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/05/26/widol26.xml

And people wonder sometimes what's wrong with our country...

Get together?

2006-05-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

I'm coming home next week. I arrive late on the 31st and return on the 8th. Who, when, where?

Please post a comment if there are certain times that definately will NOT work.

I want my straight rights!

2006-05-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

I read about all this a couple weeks ago, but haven't really had a moment to blog it yet.

So ok, I think by now we all know that the current administration absolutely HATES everything about sex. Sex-ed, safe-sex, definately sexual confusion, and probably plain ol' sex itself. Now this I do not understand, except that maybe they just aren't getting any and so don't want anybody else to either. But anyway, Russell Shorto of the NY Times Magazine wrote quite a lengthy article about all this crap a couple of weeks ago. It's pretty interesting.

Another intersting article (this one more concise than the last), once again by The Times, states, "The administration's philosophy seems to be that the best way to discourage risky behavior is to take away the safety net. Hmmm. I suppose that if we replaced air bags with sharpened spikes on dashboards, people might drive more carefully -- but it still doesn't seem like a great idea." (Nicholas D. Kristof)

Hopefully the links work...

Night shit, er, I mean shift

2006-05-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

I'm all done with my temporary night shift, and my conclusion? It blows. Hard. Now if it were my usual full time shift, the pay differential would be totally worth it, ($150-200 a month) but for just a couple days the hassle is just not worth it at all. I ended up getting about 10-12 hours of sleep over the four days, and now that I'm back to the land of the living, I can't sleep at night. So yeah, an extra 20 bucks isn't worth it. They asked me today if I wanted to do it all over again next week. I just laughed at them.

Tracks, Packs, and Take Backs

2006-05-14T04:30:00.000-07:00

Take one: First and foremost, let me set something straight. The neighborhood Josh and I live in (technically speaking, called University Heights, but commonly lumped together with the North Park neighborhood) is an interestingly dichotomized part of town. The mere distance of several blocks will yield a VERY different atmosphere. Generally speaking, when West of the 805, the better part neighborhood is North of El Cajon Blvd. You'll want to bump that up to Adams Ave when East of the 805. Back on the West side of the 805, West of Park Blvd is (generally speaking) the Hillcrest neighborhood, and that is a nice area. I don't really know the area East of the 15 and South of Adams Ave, but around (and north of) Adams is the Kensington area, and that is REALLY nice. One of the posh-ist neighborhoods East of the coast...

Take two: A long time ago I found the artist David Darg during my random browsing, and I love his music. It is all acoustic, and VERY mellow, but when I'm in the mood it's definitely something I enjoy. Josh, you will probably really like this. Mr Vid, if you ever read this, you should too. Dan, TJ, and any others that may check this, I'm not sure if acoustic is really your bag, so who knows.

Take three: Life is really interesting. Our actions can have such enormous impacts on other people even when we don't wish it. And it's difficult when you know simply taking care of/attending to yourself will cause collateral damage. But what are you supposed to do? Example:****The company you work for is restructuring and your department is being eliminating. However, there is a new position available that would allow you to stay with the company. Even better, the new job would also be a promotion over your current position. Now one of your colleagues (that your friends with) has been trying really hard for this new spot. You submitted your resume to HR as well, but upon hearing nothing back began looking for other options. You have several job offers, but none of the positions are as good as this promotion would be. They're similar to your current position, and the pay is about equal, but that's it. Now one week before you have to quit your colleague comes to you all excited saying they just talked to "The Man" and they're sure that they're getting the position. In their jubilation they tell you what a relief it is because they haven't been able to find a new job and their family has some pretty serious expenses right now. To be honest, you think it's kind of a crock because your colleague really doesn't deserve the position. They were never very good at their job, and often dumped their work on you because they couldn't handle it. Their education is old/out of date and is barely sufficient for the current position. You, however, always have busted your ass and your training fits the job perfectly. Still, you're happy for your friend; you have other options, and this position is going to save them a lot of trouble/heartache, especially since they have financial problems at home.
That night, after wrapping up everything you needed to do (long after everyone else has left for the day) you box up some of your stuff to take home. While taking the box out to your car "The Man" sees you and calls you into their office. You walk in and He tells you to sit down. "I thought you might still be here. It seems you're always one of the last to leave." He then glances at the box and says, "Looks like you're emptying your office. That might not be necessary." You look at them quizzically and inquire why. They respond, "Well, we've been watching you ever since you got here, and we can tell you have a lot of potential. I know your department is being eliminated, but I would like you keep you on as the new xyz (the aforementioned promotion). If you don't want it, we'll give the position to person abc (your friend), but we would rather have you.(yeah, I know they would never tell you that, but humor me for the stories sake.) Now you know all about the position and the pay/benefits raise it comes with, so we won't talk specifics now, but why don't you take the box back to your office and think about it overnight. Tomorrow morning I'll have HR up here, and we'll talk then."****

So, there you go. You want to take care of yourself, but at what cost? Your friend really needs this job, and you have other options. Granted, the options do little more than maintain the status quo, but the fact remains that you don't NEED the job. They would feel very betrayed if after telling you how much they needed this job you just swooped in and took it without a second thought. It is, however, entirely your friends fault that they don't have other options. They could have, just as you did, taken some night classes to stay sharp, and while you were skipping lunch every day to send out resumes and go to interviews they were going out to eat. They also could have done more social networking so that they had quality references, but they never made the effort. So yeah, they don't deserve it, but it still doesn't change the fact that you don't need it. Now, what if we change the situation. What if you don't have a job set up in case the promotion doesn't work out? What if they don't have current financial problems? What if the person is just a casual work friend, or even not a friend at all, just a coworker who happens to discuss their personal financial hardships? Do these things change what you would do? I guess to simplify it, you don't really have much to lose, while they have a lot to lose. Do you try to put others before yourself? Is it selfish to act in your own best interest if others are going to be hurt. What if they're going to be hurt because of their own doing? Obviously, you can't try to prevent other people from hurting themselves, but if they're going to be hurt directly because of your actions, is it at least partially your responsibility? I think you all get the point of what I'm saying, so I'll end this and await your responses.

This is purely a hypothetical question. Sometimes late at night, or rather, early in the morning, I find it interesting to contemplate these situations. Once again, this is hypothetical. Nothing more, and nothing less. If you want to draw parallels to your life, feel free, but don't assume I'm asking this because of any current events in mine.

Happy Mother's Day to any of those most important women who may stumble upon this. And to those fathers out there who are mothers too. If your not spending the day with your mother, go call her now.

And we go on

2006-05-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, the last month has been something.

I finally managed to get my paperwork in so I should be going to school this summer. I'm really looking forward to that again. This brain has been on vacation for toooo long. The transfer process didn't work out exactly like I would have hoped, but I guess you win some and lose some.

I've been working nights this week. It's kind of a cool experience. I always kind of wished I could find an overnight job, so this was a nice 'test'. I have to admit it's totally kicking my ass. I wasn't able to get on that sleep schedule during my two days off before this shift, so my body still wants to be awake during the day. Not dealing with any people is really nice, though.

Not much from this front. Oh, I've watched a couple movies, so I'll try to get some reviews up. Congrats to all those just finishing the academic year. And don't forget that this Sunday is Mother's Day!

Better late than never

2006-04-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have been cruisin myspace for about the last two hours, and HOLY S*#! What a trip. I can't believe some of the people I used to know. It absolutely amazes me... Who would have thought when I was in high school that some of these people would be where they are now. Simply amazing. In other news, apparently my rejected crayon color is.... (drum roll please)

You are

What Rejected Crayon Are You?

I'm not really sure if this is a good thing, but I guess if it says so...

Happy Easter

2006-04-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

More next week, I promise.

Slowly dying

2006-03-14T21:05:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I think this blog is slowly dying. I don't know why, but I just don't really have much I want to say anymore. I'm tired of blogger, my computer isn't working very well, and the job just sucks all life out of me. You should all be looking forward to the day I quit that job. I've been consciously making an effort to not talk about the company, but man, once I quit, watch out motha-fuckahs... I'm getting excited just thinking about it!

In other news, I watched The Machinist last weekend. I'm not really going to say it was an amazing movie, because I'm not completely sure what happened, but I will say that it is a movie that everybody should rush out to see this weekend if they haven't seen it already. Christian Bale pulls off another amazing performance. I also watched Junebug. Now, that's wasn't as good as The Machinist, but I did enjoy it. It was obviously an indie film, and it definitely had it's weak spots, but for all you who have ever lived in a small(er) town or love the feel of those quaint little spots, it's definitely a movie you would get a chuckle out of.

I recently got Black and White II, so stay tuned for a full review. I'm really looking forward to playing that game.

Empty Air Waves

2006-03-04T00:23:00.000-08:00

Recently I have noticed that there has been something missing from the airwaves, and that's good ol' rock and roll. Lately everything seems to be either hip hop, rap, or a some form (some more watered down than others) of punk rock/pop. I have been absolutely feigning for some quality rock and roll. I'm not looking for any kind of double-kick on the base drum or screaming metal lyrics, but man, some good rock would be awesome. Maybe a little grundge inspired rock... (think mid 90's stuff. Remember 93.7 The Edge?) Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. That's what I want. Even some alt-rock would be ok. Just something different for a change.

I really miss Minnesota radio. Hate on MN all you want while you live there, but if you ever move away you will really learn how cool some of the things you take for granted are. Personally, I really miss 89.3 The Current. While they definitely played some stuff I could have gone without listening too, I have to give them credit for playing the music library they do. I miss being able to listen all day to a radio station and only hearing a couple songs I've heard before.

Well, that's all. Just wanted to say that top 40 radio sucks. I need to start downloading albums again... Please excuse possible grammatical errors. I don't have word installed right now.

About that movie... Wait, not quite yet.

2006-02-25T01:13:00.000-08:00

I had a couple of friends over this evening for some pizza and beer, and we watched The Big Lebowski. Fortunately they all had to drive home, so I ended up with a majority of the beer. Unfortunately, I've had so little sleep lately I didn't get buzzed and in the mood to really "do something" like usual, I just got a little buzzed, and then fell asleep mid-movie. Somehow over the last several months of having no computer I have amassed a fair collection of assorted divx movies and shows. Now that I finally have the capability to watch all of them, I've been watching them well into the AM every day/night. (Not a good idea when you wake up at 4:45 am for work...) Last night it was the first 12 episodes of The Office until 1:30 am. All I can say about that is brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Even if that show got cancelled tomorrow, it would be a classic.

Anyway, The Big Lebowski, from what I saw, was absolutely awesome. I think tomorrow when I'm not so tired I'll take it over to my sisters to finish it off with my brother-in-law. Complete thoughts on the movie will follow.

What else has been going on you ask? Not much. Work sucks. My (aforementioned) brother-in-law just got back from deployment with the Navy, so that's good. Not so much babysitting for me anymore. I'm sure I'll take my nephew now and again, but I don't expect it to be a regular thing like it has been. I've been thinking about maybe posting a picture or at least a link on here sometime in the future of the little tyke, so stay tuned.

Final thought... The geeks out here number 5, and we've been talking about a possible lan. If you guys back there got your sh*t together we could possibly do some cali/minn clan wars. Food for thought. There is only one of us that's really a serious "gamer" (two counting josh for certain games) so we would probably get wasted, but it could be fun. If your interested, post a comment.

IT'S ALIVE!!!!

2006-02-22T01:04:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's right, the ol' computadora is up once again! I guess this means I don't have a reason to be negligent in my posting anymore... Shucks. Actually, yes I do. The damn apartment is so frickin cold it makes my fingers stiff. Think I'm joking? Try taking your keyboard outside (sit right outside your window so that the wireless reaches) and type up a couple of paragraphs. Ok, so maybe it is a LITTLE bit colder in MN, but hey, 50 degrees is damn cold when you have no heat. Maybe if I sit on my fingers for a couple minutes they will limber up. Anyway, it's too late to be doing much blogging right now, but expect more soon.

and..... exhale

2006-01-27T19:01:00.000-08:00

Whew! I hope not quite all of you were holding your breath for a new entry, I just about didn't make it.

(quick fix: wow, someone just drove by bumpin Phil Collins. And by bumpin, I mean they must have had dual twelves... (puts fingers shaped in and 'L' on forehead))
As you all can see, my ADD has not improved.

So yeah, it's been a while folks. While there are several reasons that I haven't been writing, the main issue is as simple as I don't have a desk. I guess I could hook my computer up on the floor, but then again, I couldn't really, as I have no 3 prong outlets in my room. Supposedly this problem will be remedied, but while I might hold my breath for the next entry, I won't hold it waiting for the repairman. (a death wish for sure right there) It's a real pity too, because there was a construction crew working on the bottom half of our duplex this last week. And by working, I mean they had the walls gutted. What a perfect time to do electrical work! I was tempted to walk right in, splice a wire, and shove one end up the wall in the general vicinity of my outlet. Then I could have hooked up my computer, AND not had to pay for it!

Work has been pretty rough lately. Our old manager was canned, and while she was very unprofessional, it was kind of sad to see her go. Our new General Manager is an absolute Nazi. She has increased my workload by about 100%, but then insists on me never staying a minute late, which really doesn't fly with me. Now personally, I believe in getting the job done, and doing what it takes to do that. She on the other hand not only demands that everything be done, be done her way, and be done to perfection, but also done by the book. Got some news for ya' Lady, if you want shit done, sometimes you just have to turn your back and be grateful that your subordinates give resul0ts. I don't know, maybe that's just the residual Marine talking inside of me, but she finally took a day off, and you would not believe how much stuff I got done. It was beautiful.

Other than that, nothing has really happened. I've been playing a little xbox, doing a little babysitting, watching The Office and Battlestar Galactica... went to see Underworld Evolution (damn was she hot)... tried a certain VERY strong green liquor that is hard to obtain the other day. (That stuff was BRUTAL!) Other than that, I haven't done much. I'm thinking about getting a different job. I hate how a certain office supply store really sucks all will to do recreational activities out of me.

Anyway, until later, stay black brothas.

I'm Back!!!

2005-11-19T20:13:00.000-08:00

Well, actually I'm not, but I do have time for a little quickie. Lots has happened... Got a job, (actually have had it for a while, but never blogged it) got a new place, and am now an uncle. So three cheers all around. I went against Dan's advice and went with a retail job. I have pretty good coworkers, it's a real casual atmosphere, and I am in management level, so that's all cool. The apartment Josh and I found is great. It's not really an apartment per se, but a duplex, which is preferable to me. I really don't like apartment complexes with one hall down the middle flanked by doors facing off against each other. The place is kind of small, but it's in a pretty cool part of town and was definitely the right price. All in all I'm satisfied. Now the whole uncle bit is my favorite piece of news. My sister had a great big baby boy on Thursday. She was WAY overdue, so it was about time. And so far he's a pretty quiet baby. I'm sure he'll find his voice more as he gets a little older, but thus far he's a content baby.

That's all for now. Once we get the whole cable/internet deal set up I should be able to write more regularly, but it might be a little while before you hear from me again. Oh, and as far as my last post, great comment Mr. Anonymous.

link of the week

2005-11-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

I don't have time now for a real blog entry, but I thought this disclaimer alone qualified for "Link of the Week."

A Prairie *@$! Companion

ESPN Sucks

2005-10-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

Now I've heard a lot of people grumbling about the mediocrity of ESPN's college football gameday package, that they don't really show the big games that most people want to watch, but more of the "battle for third place" close matches that are the fanatics dream, but that doesn't seem bad to me. For one, if you’re going to sit down and order, what is it, like 30 games a week, I figure you probably are a fanatic, so those close games for third place will be more fun to watch than the blowout of a #5 team amassing 65 unanswered points against an unranked opponent. That being said...

What the hell were you thinking, ESPN? I've been looking forward to the MN vs. Ohio State game for the whole week! Here's a chance to watch two teams ranked in the top 25 of the nation grind it out, and what do they play instead? A ranked Wisconsin team blowing out a pitiful unranked Illinois team. It makes no sense. Want the expert’s opinion on which game to watch? Fine, check with the experts if you want, but don't expect to actually be able to watch the good games. (See the must see rating at the bottom of each game match up summary.)

And if you feel like being entertained by other peoples rantings, check out this entry. Every one of you will object to at least one of his categories, but you should also be able to enjoy several of his others.

Hit me baby one more time!!!

2005-10-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

Since most of you don't ever check out the City Pages, I decided to glean this gem for you. I especially love the comment.

Be a real rock star!

2005-10-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

I was going to publish this as a comment on Dan's blog, but I decided I would save my sage advice for the halls of Off to the Races. I might even make this a weekly feature.

To address MP - Yes, lighters do get hot if you hold them like you would for lighting a cigarette. However, there is a way to wave your lighter during your favorite song without getting burned. Using your thumb and forefinger, make a letter "C" (or backwards “c” if you’re one of those folks who can’t do anything with their left hand). Now, cradle the bottom of the lighter on your thumb and against your middle finger (the rest of your hand is wrapped in a loose fist). Now light it using your index finger and keeping your finger towards the edge of the 'button'. Viola! While Hey Jude might warm your finger a little, this method will allow you to light up the night for almost all top 40 power ballads. Plus, now you won't look like a pathetic poser for raising your cell phone at your favorite anarchist bands' rock concert! For all you sissies out there, if your little bitty finger does get too warm, change it. The middle and even ring finger will work just as well. Personally, I have trouble using my pinky for much of anything except the shocker, but if you want to try using that too, go right ahead.

Next week: How to handle those moshers, and crowd surfing etiquette after that.

Sneaky Sneaky, just don't Peek-y!

2005-10-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

What are those Google Guys up to now? Seems that they might be expanding their services. Again.

And it looks like officials on the East Coast are worried that certain criminals might try to put more than candy in the mouths of little ones come Halloween...

Yeah, I know, that's really sick. I tried wording it differently, but every time I ended up using words that would have triggered specific search result traffic that I'm not looking for, if you know what I mean.

Oh, and I think Rome just became the greatest city to live in if your name is Max, Jake, Buddy, Bailey, Sam or Rocky. I guess it wouldn't be too bad if you were named Goldy either.

A Penny for Your Thoughts

2005-10-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

I know this is long, but I would appreciate all comments possible.

So here's the deal folks. I've been looking for a job, and I have a couple options now. Option One is a Team Lead/entry level management position at, let's say, big box retail company A. The second option is just a plain entry level position (not management) as an animal assistant at a research lab. So I would be cleaning cages, feeding, recording how much was eaten, how much the animal weighs, so an and so forth.

Here's my thinking: Entry level management - Great opportunity in a store that is in the process of rebuilding. Last manager was lackadaisical and new manager is working hard to bring it back up to par. Being part of that effort will look GREAT on a resume (assuming it succeeds). Also, getting experience in management is HUGE because when I move on I can always apply for another management job wherever I go and be a top candidate.

Research Lab - First glance and it's obvious, money. The lab job pays about $.75-1.00/hr more to start, but that's not all. It has a regular work schedule. Every day of every week I would be working from about 7 to 3. That means several things: one, I could get a weekend job (which I would) that would bring in about 400 extra dollars every month, which I would save for when I resume school next year, and two, this winter I could easily take a handful of classes at the local community college.

Negatives: Retail management job - schedule. All management is on a rotating shift. Open the store one week, close the next. Some weekends I would be working nights, some weekends I would have mornings, and some I would have off. Until the store gets back on track I would also probably be putting in overtime, which I'm fine with, but would further complicate the schedule. A second job would be impossible. Now I spoke to the manager about school after the interview, and he says he is fine with it, and even encourages it. He also noted that it couldn't completely take over my schedule though. The example he gave was another team lead that is going to school, but has classes EVERY evening of the week. He didn't exactly say that he was going to have to fire that guy, but he made it clear that his schedule was unacceptable. So I could still take several classes this spring, but it would be more difficult than at the lab.

Other job - It's not management. There are few opportunities to advance. It would be a good job for now, but I wouldn't be keeping it for much more than a year, and then I would be right back to where I am now. An entry level worker with few marketable skills. (I also have several warehouse "pick and pack" job opportunities with a similar situation as this lab job as far as schedule and advancement opportunity-wise.)

Final thoughts: I like the retail job because wherever I go after this I can always go for those management positions. It would also give me hard numbers to put on a resume. (ex. Was part of the management team that increased total store sales 13% over a six month period. Increased sales in my department by 14%...) The lab though... easier for classes, and more pay (much more when you figure in weekend job). They both would adequately pay the bills, so I wouldn't worry about starving if I took the retail job, but I would not be able to save as much money for next year. (I will be receiving GI Bill benefits next year, but still, having extra money saved to help with books or something is never bad.)

Also, I haven't given a final answer on either job offer. During the first/preliminary interview for the retail job (there was a preliminary phone interview and then a face-to-face) I gave my required pay range as $XX-XY/hour. My offer is at the minimum $XX/hr. I think I could get that up, but have no experience with salary negotiations. Any suggestions for tactful but effective negotiations? (I was thinking maybe big bro would...)

I know this is long, but your opinions are appreciated.

One fish, two fish, three fish, four!

2005-10-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

A couple lines just for you,
all you three, or maybe two.
Crack a smile, leak a laugh,
share these gems with all the staff.
So it back down, you blundering fool
Click the link, it'll make you drool.

Uno
Dos

Only in California...

2005-10-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

Forget killer 14 foot sharks, (the surfer dudes and dudettes can handle them) what you really have to worry about in California are those damn Killer Deer!

Would be Killer Shark

Those pesky Killer Deer!
and here

you know what's really funny? That buck was only a three pointer. It was so tiny not even a hunter would shoot it.

And yes, I know the article says he saw "a six foot deer." I saw a picture of it last night on the news and it was really the size a sheep. Baaaaaa.

Way to go Chokesota

2005-10-15T12:36:00.000-07:00

Really, what did they have to do? Nothing, but somehow they messed it up anyway. Nice going.

Idiot

2005-10-10T14:16:00.000-07:00

It looks like the nation's idiot made another mistake. And like so many of his other blunders, this one isn't funny either. Let's hope the senate has the balls and wisdom to deny this incompetent crony the position. "But we don't know anything about her," you might say. True, but I for one do not trust anyone who has ever declared that "The President is most brilliant man I have ever met."

Dude's a machine!

2005-10-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

So I called Josh this morning to see how far he had driven, (thinking he was probably nearing the western border of Nebraska) and lo and behold, the dude was at the western border of Wyoming! Now that's a jaunt! Here's a map for curious people.

On the topic of guys at the top of their game... The coolest cooking dude on TV award definitely belongs to Sam the Cooking Guy. Completely unpretentious, he's won 4 Emmy awards for his "big in taste and small in effort" easy-goin cooking style. "4 Emmys," You ask? Yep, that's right. Unfortunately you must need 5 Emmys to deserve national syndication, as that's the only possible reason this sultan of suave isn't on air in every city. Now I know most of you refuse to cook anything that doesn't come prepackaged in a box, but were you to ever actually want to make something that could impress someone, (like a certain young lady) cruise over to his site for some monster meals.

pete and repeat

2005-10-05T12:19:00.001-07:00

So did anyone actually even try "Sombrero Sling"? While flash games are definitely not as "cool" as they once were, (like five years ago) I still thought this one was at least worth two or three tries. Did everyone really think it sucked so bad they didn't even bother to try, or has no one actually played it?

Hint: You can "shoot" your sombrero further by clicking. You get three rounds.

pete and repeat

2005-10-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

What a pair of gams...

2005-10-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

While at Albertson's (think Cub or Rainbow) this afternoon I saw quite possibly the best set of legs ever... Perfect, absolutely jaw-dropping amazing.

Anyway... I just had to say that. Get it out of my system and all, you know. (They really were that nice) I’m done now.

I've been watching ROME lately, and I'm loving it. Granted, I have always been a history buff, and a fan of that particular era, but even the casual viewer should enjoy it plenty. Great cast, great acting, amazing sets, well directed... And who ever knew Caesar’s great-niece was such a cutie? (Or would she qualify as a hotty...? Watch the first couple of episodes and let me know your opinion.) It's just a good show all around. We get free HBO on demand, so I don't know if it is free for regular cable/dish subscribers, but even if most people have to pay that shouldn't be too big of an obstacle for y'all.

I finally picked up the new Postal Service cd today. (It’s not really a new release, but it's their latest full length.) I've been trying to find this album for SO long now it's amazing. I saw it once or twice before at Cheapo, (god bless that place) but it always was when I had no money with me, so you can imagine finding it today when I had a crisp new twenty-spot lining my pocket was like hitting the jackpot for me. They're pretty, well, unique I guess, so you'll probably either love 'em or hate 'em. All the same, check them out. I've been on a weird synth/british/indie/alt rock/pop fix for a while now, so I want to know if people think I'm going crazy music-wise. They're put out by the same label that does fellow mellow monsters The Shins, if that means anything to anybody.

tssk tssk

2005-10-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

I must say folks, I am disappointed in all of you. In the last 4 posts, I registered only one comment. Now I understand if a person wouldn't want to divulge what supposedly was in their subconscious (like Adam secretly prefers little boys), but what about the others 3 posts? First I hunted up a little flash game for you to play/waste time on while at work and NOBODY even registered an attempt! Come on, where's the competitive spirit?!? No booya's or smackdown layings? I also understood when nobody had a comment on the San Andreas article or my other news gatherings (despite my provocative mockery), as they weren't really controversial, but then I ask for opinions on a show, and still got nothing. Well you know what? All y'all go fuck yo'selves.

ouch.

2005-09-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

Apparently I am an incredibly prejudiced son of a ....

Try taking some of these tests. It's for an educational purpose and you might surprise yourself.

Addendum to last post:
Ok, I thought of this the moment I typed the word yesterday, but I decided to wait until today to fully address the issue. I've seen/read a lot of things about women and the reception they get for being assertive, especially in the workplace. The idea (and arguable fact) is that even in this day and age, regardless of sex, most people (at least subconsciously) think women should be meek and have no opinion. When professional women become assertive the response is "What a bitch!" Now I have no idea what is secretly in my Id, but I would personally like to think I don't have a problem with anybody being assertive. Perhaps instead of saying overly assertive I should have said overly aggressive. And I mean overly aggressive as in gettin "all up in yo' grill." Regardless of gender, the actions displayed in that episode warranted the phrases bitch, dickhead, asshole, prick, or whatever.

Woo Hooooooo!!!!!!!!

2005-09-28T10:04:00.000-07:00

I could have sworn I was heard a heavenly chorus when my eyes found this headline. And here's the local coverage.

So, the original reason for this entry was a tv show. No, not a new show, (although last night's "The Office" was absolutely spectacular) but the discontinued series The Practice. Granted, I only watched one episode, but I don't understand what supposedly made this series any good. I'll save you all the details, but the conclusion of what I saw was this: The main actor/hero in this episode was an overly assertive bitch. The "bad guy" was a well intending assistant district attorney who promised the mother of a slain child that justice would be done. In effort to create a side story, one of the characters helped a poorly cast "mentally retarded" man find his daughter. Unfortunately his lines were light-years beyond unbelievable for almost any mentally handicapped person. And finally, the two "main" characters (head honchos Lara Flynn Boyle and Dylan McDermott) glared at each other across a room while really wishing they could be pounding/grinding away on each other.

Supposedly this show was supposed to be kind of dark and also show both sides of some really tough topics. The acting quality was pretty good, but what I saw was absolute crap. The person/personality we were supposed to root for was absolutely repulsive, and the sexual tension between the two main hotties was just pathetic. Add terrible and unbelievable lines (for the "retarded" man) and the whole thing just sucked. Maybe one of you watched back in the day and can give a better review. It can't be all bad if it lasted 8 or so years.

In other news, if you ever feel like watching a documentary, check out The Laramie Project. While it is a documentary, it's has a great cast of professional actors. It would make a great addition to any multi-film movie night.

Retrospective

2005-09-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

I read an interesting article on San Andreas today, and thought it worthy of a link. I would give The Washington Post credit by linking to them, but since they require a login, fuck 'em. Here's the MSNBC version:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9495566/

In other news, quick, grab your raincoat and bible!! Apparently it's flooding everywhere. Must be the endtimes...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9051268/
http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=HAN86685
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9453446/

Oh, and a BIG ol' congratulations to MP for doing something awesome last weekend.
"I was there...it was crazy!!!"

Contest!!! (numero ???)

2005-09-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

Ok everyone, a new flash contest for you.
http://www.totaloverdose.com/game/index.asp

I've done about a 15 tosses and have almost gotten to 8500. (84xx, can't remember) Let's see what you can do.

Oh, and the other day while checking xbox.com I noticed that Fable is out for PC. It seems that a lot of the side missions they edited out of the xbox version due to time constraints are now included in this edition. That should make it an excellent game, as my only complaint was that it was way too short. If you even kind of like RPGs, this is definitely one game you should play.

Go Gophs!

2005-09-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

Man do I wish I could be in downtown Minneapolis this weekend. (For those that don't already know, let me make it perfectly clear that I love collegiate sports.) Saturday marks the biggest game of the season so far for Minny as they face off against the Purdue Boilermakers. With a win they will prove that they've finally learned from the last two disappointing seasons and are deserving of a spot in the top twenty. With one of the most talented running backs in the country, the Gophers should pull off a win in what is expected to be one of the best games of the week.

Other than that, I went to the DMV this morning for a new driver’s license. I got there at 7:30 (they open at 8) and there was already a line about 25-30 people long. Things actually went pretty quick though, and I was out of there by nine. Strangely enough, the guy in front of me was from Minnesota too (I saw his DL). Small world I guess... I should have asked him if he was planning on watching the game.

One mile, two mile, three mile, four!

2005-09-22T15:04:00.000-07:00

Or should I say floor?

I don't know why, but I love the state of Nebraska. Yeah, it's mile after mile of what some might call nothingness, but all that green land stretching out for miles is beautiful to me. There's almost a timeless quality to it... Little farms here and there, cattle grazing by the side of the road. Town after tiny town built around old grain elevators where tall trees line avenues of century old houses. Towns where railroad cars used to load up the grains of every harvest, where old depots now house only memories and the sounds of bygone locomotives...

There is something about these towns and the roads leading through them that hearken back to a time less harried and hurried. If I ever decide to settle down and write a book, look for me on the edge on one of these peaceful hamlets. A town that was once bustling with the hope and innocence of children playing, now filled with only the ghostly echoes of long departed generations. Behind a house on the edge of this specter will be an old tire swing hanging from the outstretched limb of a gnarled oak - a tribute planted decades ago by a soldier for those neighbors who would not return. Beyond that tree, a sun scorched lawn will lead to corn fields stretching to the setting sun. A place of ghosts and timeless echoes...

A query, as it were...

2005-09-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

In my latest mad spurt of writing inspiration I was struck with several hypotheticals. So I query you:

Numero Uno: The year: 2008. You’re living in a two story apartment complex with gray siding. The trim is a dark gray, perhaps with tints of blue when viewed from 163 degrees. It is a dark, overcast day.... Sorry, got distracted there, forget the ominous tone. Anyway, you live in a nice place with patios out the back on the ground level and decks on the second. Yours is one unit away from the end of the building, and your neighbor, the corner unit, has excellent taste in some of the finer aspects of life, specifically classical music. Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Chopin, Pachelbel, Stravinsky, Mendelssohn, your neighbor has it all. There's one problem though; he sometimes likes it a little loud. Usually it's only barely audible while sitting next to an open window or on the patio, but several times a month, always right around 7:30 pm, the delectable first notes of a Boston Pops Live album featuring five of these composers reaches first your ears, then your neighbors’, and their neighbors and so on. Now do you call the super and complain? After all, isn't it wrong to be protesting this kind of greatness just because it is not at a time of your choosing? Do you sit back and enjoy, or bitch?

Ever feel just like dancing all alone around a giant fire in the middle of the woods like a person gone completely mad? Perhaps a wee bit similar to Tom Bombadil? Perhaps with clothing optional? Bombadilish as it were...

Ah-HAH!!!

2005-09-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

Quote of the day (true story):

Some kid in a group of pre-teens petting my sister's dog as I'm taking him out to pee (matter-of-factly): “You know, dogs have cleaner tongues than people do.”

Me (as usual, speaking before thinking - or as I like to call it, shooting from the hip. Sarcasm dripping): “Oh yeah, that must be from licking their own ass all the time.”

... Gasps, shocked looks all around. I reveled in the fact I just contaminated little minds as they ran away, presumably to tell Mommy.

About that Movie...

2005-09-11T13:29:00.000-07:00

Well now, it's been a little while since I last wrote, and I have seen several movies that I felt warranted mention. The first was Broken Flowers, directed by Jim Jarmusch and starring the talented Bill Murray. I watched this movie largely because it won "Grand Prize of the Jury" at Cannes Film Festival this year. I figured that any movie with those credentials was worth my 9 bucks (remember, Califlation). It was quirky, artsy, well acted, and well put together. A movie I would actually consider buying. I have to say, though, I'm not quite sure what happened... It had kind of a confusing ending. Definitely one I want to see again someday to try my hand at deciphering. Nonetheless a quality film, one any of you should enjoy.

Movie numero dos: Beautiful Girls

I don't know if any of you have ever seen this magnificent film, but it is definitely one you should acquire ASAP. Save it for a cool autumn afternoon or frigid, snowy, winter night and enjoy it for all the greatness it is. I have seen this movie several times on network TV, but this was the first time I ever had the chance to see an unedited/cable version. I didn't find it until midway through, but then again I don't think I have ever seen the beginning. Matt Dillon and Timothy Hutton are the only actors I really recognized, oh, and Uma Thurman and a very young Natalie Portman, but the acting quality was very good all around. It is a great story and was filmed mostly in MN as well. Great movie...

Anyone for a tin foil hat?

2005-08-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, just found this and I immediately ran downstairs to make myself a tin foil hat. Since everybody who reads this also has a gmail account, I thought you all would appreciate it. I didn't actually finish reading the page, but what I did read I felt was blogable. Besides, I had nothing else to write today...

heeheehee

2005-08-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many of you out there are Civilization fans, but I thought you would all enjoy the top video link found here(the one labeled "Hilarious"). I would have linked you to the video itself, but that didn't work. I also would like to know which game you think is the best. I've only played Civ III, but I know version 2.0 does not always mean version 2.much much better, if you know what I mean. Oh, and why that version is best.

DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-08-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

Blogger, I fucking hate you! If I weren't such a damn techtard I would take my wonderful blog away from your undeserving ass right now and host my own site. I just spent the last several HOURS trying to get blogger to recognize my picture. It kept giving me an html error saying that my end tag had no beginning tag. WELL YOU STUPID FUCKTARDS, I NEVER HAD ANY ENDTAG! At first I thought it was a problem with my the url imageshack gave me (they supply you with about 5 different urls, all for different purposes, and I used the one they suggested using for blogger and other websites. Yep, that's right, they have a special link specifically for blogger, and it won't even recognize it.) so I tried using the direct link to the image. Nope, still the same fucking message! God it started pissing me off. I tried this, and I tried that, and it still didn't work. Finally I tried just posting without the hypertext, and guess what I see when I click "view blog"? TEN FUCKING IDENTICAL POSTS! And you know what; there was nothing wrong with them! Now google is great, google maps absolutely rocks, but blogger, you got it, it sucks the big fat hairy dick. I've been thinking about moving for a long time now, but this was the last straw. I am officially going to move my site as soon as possible.

Theme this!

2005-08-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, I hope that all of you who are "in like" with Weezer are now able to go see them. Were I still in MN I would get my financially broke ass into a ticketmaster and buy a ticket. (Correction, I'm not really broke in that I have no money, but I have no money to spend on things like that.)

Anyway... Night pictures are hard to take without a tripod. Now I tried using all my super special Marine marksmanship principles to building a solid shooting base, (as I figured shooting pictures and moving targets would be similar) but when your shutter is open that long it's hard not to move. Nonetheless, I got a couple good ones off, and here is one for you all to enjoy.

I used a hosting service called ImageShack (they let me upload without resizing) but I'm not sure they're the best. I've read that PhotoJerk is pretty good as well. Anybody have any suggestions for free image hosting services? I want reliability, large upload sizes, no third party info sharing, and most importantly, free-ness.

Weezer!!

2005-08-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

This isn't going to be a real post, but I thought several of you might want to know that Weezer is coming to St Paul (Xcel Energy Center, October 2) with the Foo Fighters and there is a presale going on right now. I don't know if any of you have paid attention to Weezer concert sales before, but they have a habit of selling out real fast, so this would definately be your best bet. I checked and there weren't any floor tickets available, (don't know if they're sold out or just not available in presale) but there were some marvelous 6th row seats available when I logged on. You can get tickets at all ticketmaster outlets (Marshall Fields would be the closest) and ticketmaster.com. Oh, and the presale ends tomorrow night at 10. And the allmighty password for this presale is....

Litebrite

Enjoy the show.

100 points!!!!

2005-08-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

Missed the last couple of point contests? Have a little time on your hands? Well then I have an opportunity for you! On my drive out here I saw a sign for this road a little ways out of Barstow, California. Now I don't know what the people who named this road were thinking, but anybody who can find a road with an odder name than ZZyzx Road will automatically be awarded 100 points in Curtis' useless point gathering contest. This has an open ended time frame, but if this post has been archived you might want to comment on the latest entry.

Response to previous comments: Bird on a Wire: Kind of funny... While most movies from that period suck, this one was actually bearable. On second thought, correction, most movies from most periods suck. Plus, just as I flipped the channel Goldie Hawn was in this little thong outfit thing-y, so I watched it for a while.

"Anonymous" poster: I'm assuming this would be Dan, as the only other person who comments anonymously is Adam and if he doesn't know about the California exodus then there are bigger problems than him not knowing that I moved. When commenting, you should click the circle labeled "Other" on the login line. You can then type your name. It would be nice. I like simple sentences. They are nice.

What I did and Why I did it:
Apparently you didn't know that I was moving. I thought everyone knew, but since I haven't seen or talked to you in a while maybe you didn't get the memo. I'm going to blame Clancy, as he speaks to you more than I do. Mr. Wiggums, you should have told Dan I was leaving. I also recall trying to coordinate many get-togethers over the entire month prior to me leaving only to have every one of them come up short for some bullshit reason. Actually, fuck that month prior shit, I can't even remember all the countless times I tried to arrange "outings" (to no avail) the 9 months I was in MN.

In order asked, when? Let's see, I think it was the Friday before last. So 15 days ago. Why? Well that one is two-fold. Immediate reason/excuse: My sister out here is going to have a baby in a couple months and her husband was just sent on a 6-7 month deployment with the Navy. I thought it would be nice if I could help her get their apartment/townhome ready and do other things that are difficult for a 6 month pregnant woman to do. Secondary/hidden reason/excuse: When in Minnesota, I wish I was back in California. When in California, I miss Minnesota. No matter where I am I long for the other. I don't know why, and I'm not about to go ask a shrink either. It's probably some deep-seeded remnant of an unresolved childhood problem. I also cite the considerable pain Minnesota weather causes to my ankle/knees/wrists/every spot in my body where bones connect. How: I packed all my clothes, some books, important papers, and a handful of kitchen wares in boxes, and dr0ve across the plains and over the Rockies in my wonderfully underpowered car. How long: Well, not sure. I plan on going to school out here, so maybe 4 years, maybe for good, or maybe for about 5 months at which time my bank accounts will be drained and I'll be out flat on my ass. Since you didn't know I was moving, then here's another surprise. Josh will be joining me out here in about two weeks and plans on finishing his computer science/engineering degree (at UCSD I believe).

Some good things about Minnesota can be found HERE. Also check out the author's rant on the state fair by clicking Thursday, August Fourth in the upper left hand calendar. (Read the bottom post first)

I'm Baa-aack!

2005-08-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

Well now, that was quite an interlude right there! The last two months haven't been the most productive on this site now have they? Oh well, I have some good things for you coming up.

First and foremost, I'm now sending my words out from the Land of Fun and Sun. I made brief mention of my move in the previous post (actually, I wrote quite extensively on it, but thanks to the marvel we all know as computers, it disappeared) but I didn't say where. I'm back in California now, and more specifically, here. Now looking at that you might think to yourself, "Wow, that little neighborhood is surrounded by 4 lane highways." And you would be right. Surprisingly though, they're not nearly as loud as the multiple hospitals in the area. Someday I should try to count all the ambulance sirens that I hear. That's all I'm going to write about the move today, but stay tuned, as more is coming.

In theme with my "about that movie" thread, I'm doing what countless producers have done for ages, making a spin-off.

About that Show...
One of the nice things about this move is that I now have cable. TV and internet. Woohoo! Anywho, I've been trying to catch up on some of the things I've missed since I last had 100 channels, so I've been watching Stargate, Battlestar Gallactica, and several random shows on FX. Now I have only seen one full episode (saw part of another) of the "new" Stargate sans R.D. Anderson, but I have to say, I'm disappointed. The new General, the new team commander, and the addition of Vala, aka attempt at sex-appeal, just didn't have the greatness that was the original cast. Now the new General won't make or break the show, as he isn't a major character. He just needs to stand there and look stern for about 4 minutes every episode (He isn't as good as Don S Davis, though). The former cast of Farscape, however, will have a bigger effect on the show. I don't yet understand the reason for Vala. She runs around in a tight black leather outfit making passes at Jackson and causing mischief. Now I don't dislike her character, but I hope that she is only a temp replacement for Sam. (I found a rumor that she's only in two more episodes.) Now the biggest change, O'Neill for Mitchell. Ben Browder seems a fine actor, and indeed, he led Farscape quite well, but his replacement of Richard Dean Anderson is going to greatly change the show. (Furthermore, it is VERY unlikely the military would ever make that move. Yes, they would move a general to a command position, but no, they would never move one LtCol to command a team with another Lt Col already in it.) R.D.A. brought a great amount of humor, sarcastic wit (true to Minnesota form), and, shall we say, panache to the show. As far as I can see Browder just isn't any of that. He's a mission oriented, no non-sense, and un-fun kind of guy. Sure, he is much more like a real LtCol, but I don't think that any of us watched this show for its "realism". So much of what was great about the show was Anderson being O'Neill, and from what I've seen, there isn't ANY of that now. Don't get me wrong, I don't want a R.D.A. clone on the show, but at least throw us a bone and give the man an occasional funny line. Hopefully Teal'C doesn't spend too much time off world doing the whole new Jaffa nation thing, because he was the only other source for laughs.

All considered, I will still watch SG-1, as it has been one of my favorite shows for almost ten years now. My viewing will be cautious, however, as I fear I may be let down any moment.

Super Duper Special SG-1 Quiz: Christopher Judge was in what movie with Mel Gibson? 25 points.

Oh, almost forgot. Those random FX shows... Check out Starved and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Tonight the second episodes air from 10-11. (sorry TJ, but if you really want to see them I'm sure you'll figure something out.) Can't guarantee them, but I sure laughed last week.

Lo siento...

2005-07-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I must apologize that it has been so long since I last blogged. As you can imagine, saving the world takes a shit-load of time. I have, however, done a lot of things since I last wrote that I intended to blog about... I saw another movie, took a little trip to Illinois, went to some auto races, took part in the summer lan '05, and decided to move. So I guess I have some catching up to do.

About that movie... (reader's digest version) I saw war of the worlds about two weeks ago. I was thoroughly unimpressed. As you saw, it doesn't even merit capitalization. The acting overall was sub-par. It wasn't terrible, but I have seen all the actors do better performances. The exceptions would be some 16 year old kid who played Tom Cruise's son so poorly I hope to never see him in any movie again, and Tim Robbins who pulled off an absolute nut-job VERY well. If there was an Oscar for best crazy person of the year, he would win it.

Illinois. My brother-in-law's family is from a town of 10-12 thousand people called Canton. Nearest city you can easily find on a map would be Peoria. Anyway, he and my sister were on leave for about a week so my mom and I drove down to visit them. It's hard to describe, but that town is the quintessential "American Town." It actually has a downtown district, old brick buildings from the turn of the century, and many other great qualities. Drive around town and 95 percent of the cars you see will be American. For many many years the town revolved around the giant Case-International Harvester tractor plant that was in town. Half the town worked there and the taxes from it made the town the type of place John Mellencamp was singing about in "Small Town". It was towns like Canton, found all over the Midwest, that drove the Golden Age of the U.S. after WWII. Just as America's glory days were numbered, however, so were Canton's. It soon followed the path of Bruce Springsteen's "My Hometown." The plant closed, and the town was hit hard. Fortunately, it has recovered fairly well by now. It's a great place.

The Auto races. Good time. My dad and I have been talking about doing this since I moved home in November. He's been looking forward...

DAMMIT!!! I just finished my entry (a LOT more) and I highlighted it all and went to ctrl C it all for transferring it to word/spell check and it I hit the wrong button. Well, rather, I hit the right button for IE, but now that I'm using MY computer instead of the parents, it was the wrong button for Avant. Now it's all gone. I managed to recover this much. Dammit!

Anyway, he's been looking forward to it and I enjoyed our little father-son "night out." I'm really glad that we finally managed to get around to doing this.

I'm quitting now. Losing my entire post pissed me off and I don't care anymore. I'm not even going to spell check this until later. Since I have the spelling and grammar skills of a third grader I'm sure it will be hideous.

I'M SAVIN' THE WORLD!!!!!

2005-06-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm no longer amongst the ranks of the unemployed. I have to say, if anybody ever absolutely NAILED an interview, it was me today. I spoke and they drank it up... Every last drop. I even got a middle management position! Yes, middle management, largely unimportant and completely disposable. Booya! So yeah, I'm going to be saving the world working for The Sierra Club.
Seriously though, I'm really stoked about it. The campaign this summer sounds great, and it will be a good chance for me to experience a grassroots political campaign. Call me a hippy, tree-hugger, or whatever you want, but I'm excited. And there aren't even any morning hours. How much better could it get?

rant:

2005-06-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

I am absolutely amazed at the number of people who obviously don't use any type of spelling or grammar check for their Internet work. How hard is it? There is a spell check right here in blogger for all those blogspotters out there. And for you non-google people, you can all just do what I do: copy and paste into a new word document. Viola! Seriously, how hard is that? Do people even read what they write? If they did they would surely catch at least SOME of their glaring mistakes. Examples: today I was linked to a page and in the first sentence they misspelled college. I'm sure their place of higher education is appreciative of that. I went to another page and the author claimed to be a writer, yet they used absolutely NO capitalization. It was uniform throughout the entry, however, so at least they were consistently wrong. It went beyond the lack of capitalization, though, there were also numerous spelling and grammatical errors that just screamed at me. Please, people, read what you write!!!

I guess I shouldn't judge, F. Scott Fitzgerald had the spelling and grammar skills of a third grader... And I'm not perfect either. I frequently have run-on or fragment sentences, and I have no concept of how/when to separate paragraphs. I do, however, perform a spelling and grammar check on all of my entries, and also thoroughly read them several times.

Five points if you can find an error in this entry beyond stylistic choices. I'm sure I made at least one mistake.

About that movie...

2005-06-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

I've decided to make this title a recurring theme on my blog. This last weekend Dan, TJ and I met up at Delano to watch Batman Begins, and I can't think of a single thing I didn't like about it. Now I have only seen one other Batman movies, so I didn't have a problem with Bale portraying Batman, but even if I was a die-hard Keaton or Clooney fan I can't imagine a complaint. Tough and gritty, Bale solidly embodied everything I thought Batman should be. The special effects were seamlessly edited (and cool), the score was awesome, the cinematography/lighting was well done, and the acting quality of all characters was very good in my opinion. There were moments in the beginning when the plot did seem a little hurried, but I feel that is excusable when trying to establish the foundation to a saga such as this. Overall, I thought it was a solid film, and would recommend it to anybody. Oh, and Katie Holmes is HOT! Did anybody know that she auditioned for Buffy once upon a time?

I need a change... of pants

2005-06-12T00:32:00.000-07:00

I have never been on a roller coaster. Well, rather, I have never been on a REAL roller coaster. Once, when I was ten or so, my aunt took me to the state fair midway and they had a smallish one. I don't know if it's still there every year, but I remember even at that young age it left me kind of disappointed. After seeing THIS picture, I decided that it is about time my coaster-cherry was popped. (I think if I ever went on that ride I would shit my pants. And not a nice log turd either, but massive squirts... Kind of yellow-y brown in color.) Anyway, we should plan a trip sometime. The destination wouldn't have to be MN, either. If better coasters can be had within a days drive, then I say we pack up and take a road trip. As far as time frame, I'm thinking late summer or so.

zzzzzzz

2005-06-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

I am bored. Bored, bored, bored. I have absolutely nothing to do. I have been trying to find a job lately, and I have had absolutely no luck. Zip, zap, zilch. The big zero. I take that back, there have been a couple job postings that I have seen for telemarketing openings. There you go, if I wanted to I could call everybody in America over their dinner hour. And believe me, my continued unemployment is not for lack of trying. I have made calls, I have poured over every employment classified I could find, and when I got tired of the newspapers I even went to the Internet. But with the qualifications I have right now, apparently nobody wants to hire me. I wish I could still do construction. I would have already made 1000 dollars in the last two weeks. But as the saying goes, wish in one hand and sh*t in the other and see which one fills up faster. Seriously though, I've decided that unless I find a job by the end of tomorrow, I need to stop looking for full time and just get as many hours as possible at the local gas station or something. If I don't, fall semester is going to come and I'm not going to have enough money to pay even the first half. My problem is that I have no skills, and due to the ol' stump, I can't do any of the stuff I have experience in. Forget retail, I may have done and enjoyed it once, but there is no way in hell I could be on concrete floors 8 hours a day. Construction? Yeah, picture me climbing a 25-foot ladder with a hundred pound bundle of shingles on my shoulder and then picture me spending two months in the hospital. And then there's the military experience... Ok, that qualifies me to be either a cop or security guard, and neither of those jobs accepts people with mobility problems.

So, does anybody know of places hiring where I wouldn't need any skills or experience, but where I could also sit for part of a shift? I don't need to be on my ass the whole time, but I need to be able to sit down on a stool or some boxes at least a little while. I've tried looking for some second and third shift jobs at gas stations, but none of the places I checked were hiring.

Why I hope to never have an office job

2005-06-03T07:54:00.000-07:00

http://msn-cnet.com.com/Is+your+boss+monitoring+your+e-mail/2100-1032_3-5712677.html?part=msn-cnet&subj=ns_5712677&tag=msn_home&GT1=6556

Cars... (drool)

2005-06-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

I'm sure by now everybody has seen the new Mitsubishi Eclipse either at the autoshow or on tv commercials. Whether you like it or not, you have to admit that it represents a bold styling change. I see a lot of cues taken from other cars, and I want to hear what you think it looks like. Do the angles up front look like a Ferrari? The fender flares like a Maserati? How about the rear and an infinity G35 coupe? What do you think? Back your opinion up with links to pics.
Oh, and HERE is your link to the Eclipse gallery.

And I would much prefer a Ferrari Maranello to that Porsche. Wouldn't it be great to walk around this lot...

This is the story of a girl...

2005-05-31T20:46:00.000-07:00

The story they don't want you to hear... (cue scary music)
In June of 1981 a young couple in Illinois discovered that they would be having a baby in late March of 82. During the next several months there was much guessing about whether it would be a boy or girl, but all bets were settled in mid autumn when they learned they were having a son. The happy couple gleefully painted the nursery in shades blue and applied a small border with little racecars. To finish the theme they went out and bought a little red racecar bed. Finally, with the due date approaching, they decided to name the baby after the father's recently departed Uncle Dan. Much to their surprise, on March 25 the baby was born and what they had thought was a little wee-wee turned out to be a finger! Now what were they supposed to do? For the last nine months they had planned for a son and here was a girl. They decided, however, to still honor their favorite uncle by naming the new little girl Danica. Once home they made plans to redecorate the baby's room, but Danica fell in love with that little red indy car bed. At night she dreamed of she was zooming around her room with all the other cars on the walls, and so as the years went by the racing theme remained. Finally, after years of pleading, once she hit double digits her parents let her start racing. The petal hasn't been off the metal since. Last weekend Danica Patrick had the best performance of her career, finishing 4th at the famed Indianapolis 500. It was a great race, and congrats to the newest Indy rookie of the year.

About Indy: While my Dad was always a bigger fan of NASCAR, and is therefore what I "grew up" on, I prefer the Indy/CART racing. Compared to these little one-seaters, those behemoths that they try to pass off as "stock" cars are a joke, technologically and performance-wise. Seriously, what could beat racing around a track at 230 mph, all while your ass is a measly 6 inches off the ground? Oh, and did I mention the multiple g-forces? Wow, I shudder in amazement at that thought. If I were to win the lottery, or come into any large amount of money, I would buy myself a racecar. Now I would probably never be good enough to actually get paid, since most of those drivers have been doing it since they were kids, but it would be one hell of a good time.

For those interested, she supposedly posed for FHM. I couldn't find the pics, but then again, I gave up after the first two google hits ended up being eastern European porn sites. I also looked a week before the race. There probably is more interest now. Also, ESPN will air a special behind-the-scenes show focusing on Patrick at 7:30 p.m. (EDT) June 11, and the winner of the Indy 500, Dan Wheldon, will be on Letterman on June 6th. Should be good, as Letterman is part owner of Danica's team.

2005-05-28T23:01:00.000-07:00

So it's the weekend, or at least that's what they tell me. I guess it must be true 'cause they're playing Buffy and Angel re-runs late at night. I was never really into these shows when they were prime time, but there isn't really much else on TV now so why not... I guess Charisma Carpenter wearing a little Princess Leia style slave outfit has been an added bonus. (I have to say though, I prefer Amy Acker (Fred). I don't know why, but there is something about her and those great big brown eyes...)

Anyway, you guys and your stupid cabins kind of piss me off. Just at the mere mention of the weekend I can hear the stampeding footsteps of you all running off to mommy and daddy's cabin. Sure, waterskiing and taking pictures of the sunset sounds like a blast, but good lord, every weekend? Even if it is going to rain all weekend, all they have to do is tug at your leash a little and off you go. Now don't get me wrong, spending time with parents and siblings is great, but I would rather venture out of the confines of my bedroom a couple times a week for a quality conversation or even an occasional board game. I don't know, call me umbilical-less I guess.

On an unrelated topic, for those Delano folks out there, Schaack is the proud new daddy to a baby girl.

About that movie...

2005-05-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

Well, we went and saw Star Wars last night, and since nobody else has blogged it, here goes. I thought it was ok. Not good, not bad, but ok. It left me "mildly pleased." And I think the key reason that I was open to the movie was that I went in with no expectations. I had heard the hype, seen the trailers, but I knew if I bought into any of it George would just let me down.

The highlight of the movie most definitely was the score. Absolutely beautiful, and played in the background of almost every scene. The biggest weakness of the movie was the disappointing performances by Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen. Since the last SW, Portman has been in a number of different roles and has shone through as a great actress. Unfortunately she falls short in this work leaving us with a very forced and cookie cutter feeling performance. Then again, that very well could have been a problem with the writing. The Padme and Anakin characters (and their relationship) are Lucas' cornerstones for the story, and I would not be surprised if they weren't allowed much leeway to "make the characters their own." Some of the dialogue felt very forced as well. Especially Yoda's trademark "backwards speech." He didn't reverse just a couple lines like I remember from the original, but every single sentence that he said. It quickly went from a lovable eccentricity of the green munchkin to annoyingly redundant. The final thing that really disappointed me was the cgi. While it was absolutely beautiful and indistinguishable in most scenes, there were some non-action clips where it was incredibly poor. It seems like they worked so hard on Yoda and the special effects that when it came time to render a group of 8 storm troopers standing by a conference table they didn't really care. Personally, if someone is going to try to make a digital masterpiece, I think they need to do the whole thing. A similar situation was in Spiderman. The whole movie was gorgeous, and then the final scene had those crappy fisher price-looking helicopters. Did they spend all their time on the big scenes and then realize 2 hours before deadline they had some loose ends?

So there you go. Not bad by any means, but not one for the ages either. With the exception of Ewan McGregor and Samuel L Jackson, the acting was really sub par, but yet it was never so bad it detracted from story. Perhaps someday after George is long gone another director will get his hands on the rights. Then we might get the movie this story could have been.

Blue, 42...!

2005-05-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

Ten points to the first to identify this man.

Argh

2005-05-10T06:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I am in the middle of finals-land. My first one was yesterday, and I aced it easy, so that's good. I have my two hard ones tomorrow though, and a lot is riding on the scores of those tests.

Word of advice: Don't ever (even grudgingly) take an advanced 2nd year course without any prior knowledge of the subject even if there are no prerequisites and the counselor says your lack of knowledge will be absolutely no problem.

So yeah, I'm so screwed on that test. For our midterm the entire front page was a 20 point definition/explanation of some fundamental principles of visual communications. I was so utterly clueless I couldn't even fake it. All I could write was "Ouch, this is going to hurt." She appreciated the humor, but it sure didn't help my score.

Unrelated topic/query/rant: Since I've been doing a lot of work in the school computer labs I've been trying to listen to music to block out all the annoying people. I am having a hard time finding any decent stations that have a streaming broadcast. WTF? I remember in high school I would listen to all kinds of broadcasts. Why did they decide to abandon the wired demographic? Does anybody know of some good stations/sites that stream quality music that I haven't heard 500 times already (aka top 40 = local radio stations play list)? There's a station out of Philadelphia called Y100 that usually has good stuff, but I would like a little variety.

Oh, and guess who has the ALL NEW Weezer album!!!!!! That's right!

I wonder what world they are living in...

2005-05-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the all-mighty City Pages I was directed to THIS website. It is really too bad that a few people in their complete ignorance do not realize that the literal translation of their KJV Bible (pronounced Bib-le. Like a baby's bib, with and L on the end) isn't always right. I think these are the type of people who say we shouldn't try to protect the environment, because the faster we destroy the earth, the faster Jesus will come again.

I wonder if the world they are living in is nicer. I think it's probably a lot like this one, except in their world God's given them new facial features that look surprisingly like horse blinders and all the walls are covered in a nice, soft, pillow-y material.

CONTEST!!!!

2005-05-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

Ten points to the high score
http://www.eyeballknights.com/

(honesty appreciated)

The season of...?

2005-05-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

At first I didn't think this was worth blogging, but it's happened about 5 times now and I've just about had enough. Once again I came to school early to do some work, and the first place I went there was this one chick just screaming away about how she just broke up and how much of an asshole he was. I didn't even bother sitting down, I just did a u-turn and left. Next place I went I had about 5 minutes of peace, and then another chick came in with all kinds of baby-mamma drama! They left shortly but were soon replaced with another female two-some. She apparently wasn't "broken up" yet, but that relationship was on the outs and her friend was very supportive. Apparently she "deserves so much better than him." Then after class I decided to try a new place in hopes there wouldn't be people with relationship woes. No such luck. It's everywhere. Even as I'm typing this two people are talking about it right behind me! And this is supposed to be the season of love...

A penny for you thoughts...

2005-04-28T06:06:00.000-07:00

Late last night during my nocturnal browsing I came upon a question:

"Should people who infect others with HIV have to help pay the costs of the drugs the people they infect are going to need to stay alive?"

It got me thinking. We make people pay reparations to victims or surviving family for many crimes committed. Why doesn't this apply to AIDS? "In most U.S. states and all of Canada, knowingly exposing someone to HIV is a felony--just like mugging little old ladies." (from the same site as the question)
Granted, unprotected sex is a choice, but if after two months of serious dating, how many people are going to ask to look at the test results before they go bare? "Excuse me honey, I'll keep rubbing/stroking it while you go out for a blood test..." If not a legal dilemma, I personally feel this is a considerable moral quandary. Establishing the fact that a person purposefully concealed their disease could prove difficult as many carriers are unaware, but if it warrants time in some states why not at least financial assistance here in MN or nationwide for that matter?

I want to hear what everybody thinks, so please comment. Also feel free to link to this topic.

Just watch, I'll get 3, maybe 4 comments. If I'm lucky.

You don't see this everyday!

2005-04-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

Nothing new to amuse you all with today, but I did find some interesting stories, so here you go.

Exploding toads and Momsicles? You don't see that everday!

Put your hands in the air!

2005-04-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

Ok everybody, give it up to Hardee's for keepin it real(damn that looks good), and for white boys wit some mad skills! (for whitey click on the video montage)

And after listening to this on my way to school I did some research, and I think Hanoi might qualify for the "City with the most names ever" award.

Ok, you can put em down now, I ain't gonna rob you, aight?

Break it down, Shotgun Style.

2005-04-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

Now there's a nice Marine saying for you! And I will do just that for you. I have reported that there have been some recent advancements with the judicial appointees but I realize that this still is a confusing issue. For a simple but in-depth look at filibuster and all things pertaining, check out this article on the NPR website. There is also a great point-counterpoint page on this issue here.

*Unlike most of their archives, they have converted this interview to text format so you don't have to download the file.

I can't believe...

2005-04-22T07:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I officially cited Wikipedia for a research paper. I hope that the prof is an e-dumbass, because if she knows what wiki really is I have a feeling she will rip my paper to shreds. But what was I really to do? I needed a definition of adware, spyware, and malware, and I couldn't find any reputable sources. What should I have done, cited Urban Dictionary?! But anyway, after I got my quote I read on and somehow got directed to Wiki's troll/trolling/flame wars definitions. While I found them all hugely entertaining, I couldn't help but say to myself, "I can't believe I'm actually reading this shit..."

What would we do without cyber-nerds?

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

2005-04-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

Sweet, it looks like we just might see some action in Washington after all... We have the judicial filibuster issue in the Senate coming to a head, and across the way in the House they're donning the gloves over DeLay and the Ethics Committee.

Unfortunately the battle for ANWR is going poorly. Read about the bill they passed today.

Off to the Races

C's can has degrees?

Happy Holidays

blah, blah, and blah

Happy Life Day!

Recent life

おわり！！！

ungh...

laze

OMGOMGOMG

"only you can prevent forest fires"

Where'd it go?

NEW HOUSE!!!!

Pictures!!!

Food for thought

Correction

Mend your ways!

More bizarre links, please!

Sweet Relief

Happy Fourth of July

Assorted Topics

dont have a meltdown...

It's Father's Day

OK, as long as it's just a quickie...

(speachless)

World's Longest Commercial Break

I want my straight rights!

Get the latex suits!

l33t Beotch!

wha wha wha what

I think I found my major...

Ah, sweet, sweet memories...

Dog Days...

Rake That Muck!

How Sad

Get together?

I want my straight rights!

Night shit, er, I mean shift

Tracks, Packs, and Take Backs

And we go on

Better late than never

Happy Easter

Slowly dying

Empty Air Waves

About that movie... Wait, not quite yet.

IT'S ALIVE!!!!

and..... exhale

I'm Back!!!

link of the week

ESPN Sucks

Hit me baby one more time!!!

Be a real rock star!

Sneaky Sneaky, just don't Peek-y!

A Penny for Your Thoughts

One fish, two fish, three fish, four!

Only in California...

Way to go Chokesota

Idiot

Dude's a machine!

pete and repeat

pete and repeat

What a pair of gams...

tssk tssk

ouch.

Woo Hooooooo!!!!!!!!

Retrospective

Contest!!! (numero ???)

Go Gophs!

One mile, two mile, three mile, four!

A query, as it were...

Ah-HAH!!!

About that Movie...

Anyone for a tin foil hat?

heeheehee

DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Theme this!

Weezer!!

100 points!!!!

I'm Baa-aack!

Lo siento...